We have the opportunity and the time to change the culture of health care and the expectations of patients and providers. We have so many effective prevention interventions that address the major causes of chronic disease and early disability and death.

The methods I employ to achieve my goals are quite simple. I have them, I set them, but then I let them go and just do the next thing, showing up as fully as I can with who I am, wherever I am and in whatever I am doing.

At its most basic, self-awareness is simply self-appreciating the self. To find an answer to a question we are all interested in -- "How am I doing?" -- you have to be willing to look in the first place.

At some point during the thrill of watching the Olympics, the question emerges: How do they do it? The answer is supposed to inform the rest of us on the "secrets" to living, well, like an Olympian -- to living with superhuman health. Is there such a formula we can glean from our prized athletes?

If you want to stay healthy for life, you need to take care of yourself. That's the conventional wisdom. But the real secret to lifelong good health is actually the opposite: Let your body take care of you.